AL Chapter2

Without thinking, Liang Ruixi instinctively hit “withdraw” in an instant. Depending on himself felt safer than counting on anyone else, so he trembled as he got dressed and ordered a ride straight to the hospital.

 

Only once he was in the car did he have the energy to message Jiang Cheng again. He didn’t have the energy to yell “help” a second time, only saying that he suddenly had severe abdominal pain and was going to the hospital for an emergency. Jiang Cheng asked how he was and if he needed him to close the bar immediately and come over.

 

They had hired someone at the bar named Xiao Ding, an old friend of theirs, but he wasn’t good at bartending and only did odd jobs. Compared to his initial panic, Liang Ruixi’s emotions were much more stable now. He put on a brave face and said, “I’m feeling a bit better; you finish up at the bar first, then come.”

 

At 11 PM, the emergency room at Lingzhou Second Hospital was as crowded as a stock exchange floor on opening day. Except for three years ago when his grandfather had a cerebral hemorrhage, Liang Ruixi hadn’t been to a hospital in many years. Relying on his youth and good health, he used to tough out minor illnesses and pains on his own. Now, seeing this scene upon entering the hospital, he was a little stunned… perhaps this was the reality of a nighttime emergency department in a major international city’s public tertiary hospital?

 

Liang Ruixi had no choice but to follow the medical staff’s instructions step-by-step: pre-check, then registration, payment, and waiting in line.

 

By the time Jiang Cheng arrived, Liang Ruixi was already wracked with pain, looking like a dead dog.

 

“How are you? Are you done seeing the doctor?” Jiang Cheng asked after he found him.

 

“No…” Liang Ruixi opened his eyes. He was wearing a not-too-thick hooded sweatshirt. In his haste, he hadn’t even worn socks, and just slipped on a pair of sneakers, leaving his ankles exposed. Likely feeling cold, he hugged himself tightly, appearing weak and pitiful: “Just finished the blood test, waiting for the report.”

 

“Didn’t you come to the hospital an hour ago? Why is it taking so long!” Jiang Cheng looked around, inexplicably irritated.

 

“That’s how it is in a big city.” Liang Ruixi soothed him.

 

“Damn it,” Jiang Cheng hadn’t received a higher education and still had the bandit-like swagger of a street tough. When things didn’t go his way, he wanted to lose his temper. He grumbled as he sat down next to Liang Ruixi, but his butt hadn’t even warmed the seat when a girl, also holding a medical record, came looking for an empty spot. Liang Ruixi nudged him with his elbow: “Get up, let someone else sit!”

 

Jiang Cheng: “……”

 

The girl saw how fierce Jiang Cheng looked and didn’t dare to approach. Only when she spotted Liang Ruixi, whose looks were comparable to a comic book character, did she blush and sit down nearby. Jiang Cheng stood to the side with his arms crossed, muttering in their hometown dialect to Liang Ruixi, “Still trying to pick up girls at a time like this!” Liang Ruixi thought to himself, Pick up your sister! This is called being courteous!

 

Ai, it’s not easy for anyone, male or female, to come to the emergency room alone in the middle of the night.

 

No sooner had he finished grumbling to himself than another sharp pain ripped through his stomach. Liang Ruixi almost died on the spot; stars burst before his eyes, and he trembled uncontrollably, breaking out in a cold sweat.

 

“Hey! What’s wrong?” Jiang Cheng panicked when he saw Liang Ruixi suddenly turn ashen and sweat pouring down him. It was the girl earlier who had the good sense to quickly get up and call for help, “Doctor! Doctor! This patient is in bad shape!”

 

A nurse came over when she heard the commotion to check on Liang Ruixi, taking his blood pressure and a blood sample. She immediately called for medical staff to bring an emergency bed. Jiang Cheng lifted Liang Ruixi onto it, and together with the medical staff, pushed him to the emergency room. Liang Ruixi had lived for twenty-six years, but he had never felt so close to death as he did at this moment. The last shred of his consciousness reminded him that he absolutely had to leave some words behind.

 

He fumbled to grab Jiang Cheng’s wrist, gasping, “Dog Kidney, if I don’t make it, the bar is yours… I still have over a hundred thousand in my bank, take it back for my aunt and grandma… If, if my mom comes back, tell her I don’t hate her, I miss her…”

 

Jiang Cheng’s eyes were practically bloodshot with worry. “What the hell are you talking about?! Shut up!”

 

Liang Ruixi ignored him and continued to give instructions, “Check my phone, I have a university classmate named Zhou Yan. He used to be really good to me. He’s getting married soon, and I promised him a big red envelope…”

 

“…How much?”

 

“Eighty, eight…” Liang Ruixi gasped in pain, then uttered another “eight” before his head lolled to the side, losing the strength to speak.

 

In a dizzy haze, Liang Ruixi felt a clip attached to his index finger and heard beeping sounds. Many people were murmuring around him, and someone was pressing on his abdomen. When they pressed on a painful spot, he almost foamed at the mouth. After a while, he felt himself being turned onto his side, and his butt felt cold.

 

Oh my god, it hurts, hurts, hurts, hurts…

 

Liang Ruixi jolted like a half-dead fish and completely passed out.

 

***

 

It was nearing midnight, but the office building near Linshan Park was still brightly lit. Zhou Yan was still writing a legal opinion for a non-litigation project when he received a call from Xiao Zhi.

 

“Did you see the photo I sent you?” Xiao Zhi got straight to the point.

 

“No, I’m still working overtime at the firm…” After hours hunched over his desk, Zhou Yan’s neck was starting to feel stiff, so he stood up to stretch while taking the call.

 

“I knew it! I sent you several messages on WeChat, and you didn’t reply. You must’ve been buried in work, you total workaholic!” Xiao Zhi grumbled a little, but there was no real annoyance in her voice. In fact, it carried the familiar closeness of longtime friends. “My wedding photos came out today.”

 

“Oh, really?” Zhou Yan smiled faintly. “When are you planning to announce the marriage?”

 

“Next Friday, but tonight Qiurui posted a back shot of my wedding dress on her friend’s feed. Thanks to her, quite a few people already know. A lot of people from F University even think I’m marrying you,” Xiao Zhi said, troubled. “It just occurred to me that we never officially announced our breakup. What should I do? Is it too late to explain to everyone now?”

 

Zhou Yan soothed her, “Don’t worry. Who is there that knows about it? Just explain to them one by one.”

 

“Dozens of them! I’d be exhausted if I explained to each one individually!” Xiao Zhi paused, then suggested, “How about I just reply publicly under Qi Qiurui’s post?”

 

Zhou Yan was silent for two seconds, lost in thought.

 

“How should we phrase it? Let’s discuss a unified story. I don’t want the truth getting out and implicating you for playing along with me all these years.”

 

“Say I wronged you?” Zhou Yan snapped back to attention.

 

“No way, as the dignified flower of the department, wouldn’t it be a huge loss of face to say I was wronged by a man? Let’s just say I wronged you. Xu Xinzheng and I getting back together was a rekindling of old flames anyway, so I’m not afraid of being accused of not thinking straight.”

 

“Alright, you’re a runaway Disney princess who doesn’t care about worldly opinions,” Zhou Yan teased self-deprecatingly. “Anyway, I’m a lone wolf, no scandals, no marriage, no ambiguous relationships, so I guess I’ll have to be the victim.”

 

Xiao Zhi suddenly asked, “Have you… been in touch with him recently?”

 

Zhou Yan’s smile faded. “No.”

 

“No way, aren’t you both in Haicheng? What, now that I’m not around, you can’t even manage to get a rumored partner anymore?” Xiao Zhi said sympathetically.

 

“What good would contact do?” Zhou Yan stood by the window then, his gaze unfocused on the night view outside, his voice much heavier. “Xiao Zhi, I’m no longer at an age where I can live by fantasies.”

 

Zhou Yan was still looking at the dazzling night view from the window when Xiao Zhi, who was on the other end of the line, seemed to want to say something more, but he had already changed the subject: “When’s the wedding date?”

 

“Tentatively July 2nd.”

 

“En,” Zhou Yan paused. “I’ll definitely come if I have time.”

 

“Never mind, our relationship is too delicate; you’d better not come…” Xiao Zhi said.

 

“……”

 

After hanging up, Zhou Yan looked at the brilliant night view from the window again for a while.

 

This city is tolerant; it allows all foreign visitors to stop here. But it’s also indifferent because, among these myriad lights, there isn’t a single one that belongs to him.

 

Zhou Yan sighed and returned to his desk. Remembering the photo Xiao Zhi had mentioned earlier, he picked up his phone to look. There were still many unread messages in his contact list, but Zhou Yan’s eyes immediately locked onto the most familiar profile picture: Liang Ruixi.

 

-“Liang Ruixi” withdraws a message.-

 

……

 

What did he withdraw?

 

Zhou Yan frowned, checking the withdrawal time: 1 hour and 11 minutes ago. Had he also seen Xiao Zhi’s wedding photos? Qi Qiurui was Xiao Zhi’s best friend and a mutual junior classmate of theirs, so it was logical that Liang Ruixi could see her posts. But since Liang Ruixi chose to withdraw it, he probably wasn’t planning on asking anymore…

 

Never mind, Zhou Yan put down his phone and looked at the unfinished legal opinion, deciding to continue working. Just then, his phone vibrated again. Zhou Yan quickly picked it up and saw that Xiao Zhi had sent him two more messages.

 

Xiao Zhi: “The year I graduated, S.H.E released a song I really loved. It was called ‘You Were Once a Youth.’ I wonder if you’ve ever heard it. There’s a part of the lyrics I want to share with you: ‘Many years ago, you were once a simple youth, falling in love with someone, unafraid to give your whole life, believing love would be eternal, believing every stranger, believing you would become the person you most wanted to be…'”

 

Xiao Zhi: “Zhou Yan, although you say you no longer live by fantasies, I still hope you bravely take that step. In law, there’s a term called ‘expecting possibility.’ You’re so good at jurisprudence, you should understand what I’m trying to express. You’ve done so much for him, but you haven’t let him know. If I were you, I’d regret it my entire life.”

 

Zhou Yan stared at the two long messages, his gaze repeatedly scanning the lyrics.

 

“Falling in love with someone, you’re not afraid to give your whole life… believing love will be eternal…”

 

Silently reciting these lyrics, Zhou Yan’s heart violently trembled. Recalling all his past with Liang Ruixi, the emotions buried deep within him surged like a tsunami.

 

He clicked on that familiar profile picture again and directly placed a voice call. As he waited for it to connect, his mind buzzed, and his heart pounded. Lawyer Zhou, who was always eloquent and quick-witted, was at this moment fumbling in his mind, trying to organize his thoughts.

 

*Liang Ruixi, what were you just about to say to me?

 

*Liang Ruixi, how have you been lately?

 

*Liang Ruixi, where are you? Can you come out and have a drink with me?

 

*Liang Ruixi…

 

The call connected, but a strange voice came from the other end. Zhou Yan exchanged a couple of sentences with the person, and his mind went blank with a ‘buzz.’

 

“Send me the location, I’m coming now.” He said, grabbing the jacket from the back of his chair. Without even putting it on, he rushed out the door.

 

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[Little Interlude]

Zhou Yan: Liang Ruixi, where are you? Can you come out and have a drink with me?

Liang Ruixi: Laozi has already ended up in the emergency room because I drank too much!